Page 43 of Comeback
They set their bass free and cast into the water again, and I snuck my phone out once more. I went back to the search results and clicked on Jack’s very own Wikipedia article. There, I learned that Jack was more than just an “alright” hockey player, just as I suspected. I read that he was actually the highest-scoring player and captain of his team, the Dallas Devils, until his “sudden and controversial retirement from hockey, following the death of his best friend and teammate, Ryan ‘Soupy’ Campbell.”
I gulped. Something told me to stop reading right there. But desperate to know more, I continued.
“Days after Campbell’s death, the Devils competed in the final round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, Hathaway did not play in the Finals, and his team was swept 4–0 by the Carolina Rampage.”
Hm,I thought.Strange.
I had more questions than answers—but I knew Jack wasn’t ready to talk about any of that with me.
Enough snooping for one day,I thought as I powered off my phone and stowed it away in my bag.
Chapter 19
Jack
Mack and I caught a total of twenty-seven fish while we waited for the ribs to finish cooking. The girl was a regular ol’ fisherman, and I thought how much fun she’d be to bring along on the off-season fishing trips with the boys … before a twinge sliced through my heart and I remembered,those days are over.
She wassucha fisherman, in fact, that once the ribs were done, it was something of a battle to get her to put the rod down and eat. She broke down, shed a few tears, and threw a small tantrum. Emma stepped in to calm her down, and reminded me of that wholehangrything.
I plated the ribs, along with sides of potato salad and cole slaw. Once Mack had calmed down, the three of us sat around the lounge table and ate. The girls loved lunch, especially Mack, who managed to scarf down two entire ribs all to herself.
After lunch, Mack demanded to go fishing again, but it wasn’t long before she started nodding off in my arms. Once she fell asleep, I quietly carried her over to Emma.
“Aw, poor thing,” Emma said, smiling sweetly. “She’s tuckered out.”
“Think we should put her down?”
“Yeah, for sure.”
I carried her downstairs and laid her in the top bunk. We tucked her in and quietly closed the door. The two of us retreated, tiptoeing to the saloon lounge just outside Mack’s guest cabin.
“Thank you, Jack,” Emma said. “Today’s been amazing. You’ve been so great with Mack.”
“Youmade today amazing,” I said as I pulled Emma tightly against me. Her breasts softly smooshed against my hard chest as our lips met, and my cock began to stir in my trunks. I couldn’t wait to get her out of that bikini andreallyfeel her tits mashed against my bare chest.
I grabbed a fistful of her hair and exposed her neck, nipping at her smooth flesh as I laid a trail of kisses down to her collarbone. Her sunscreen left a bitter tang on my lips, but I didn’t even care because we werefinallyalone.
I couldn’t wait a second longer.
“You’re mine,” I growled as I scooped her into my arms and carried her to the stateroom. I kicked the door shut behind us and tossed her into bed. She belonged to me now—me and no one else.
“You’re wild, Jack!” she giggled as she scrambled up the mattress.
She wanted me to chase her, and I was more than happy to. I crawled after her, grabbed her by the waist, and pulled her body under mine. The fight left her body and she surrendered with a moan as I pressed myself on top of her. Our lips locked, my weight sinking her deeper into the mattress.
“Oh, Jack,” she moaned, raking her nails across my back.
Her mouth melted against mine as she kissed me back … but slowly, surely, the passion in her lips began to wane. I kissed her hotter, heavier, trying to plump up those sexy red lips again and stoke her fire—but it wasn’t any use. I could tell something was wrong; something was on her mind.
I sat up on my heels. “What’s wrong?”
“Sorry,” she said, squeezing her eyes shut. “But we shouldn’t close that door. I need to be able to hear in case Mack wakes up.”
“That’s okay,” I said. I knew life was different once kids were in the picture. Still, it was disappointing. I’d been dying to get her alone for so long, and now it looked like it couldn’t happen.
She hopped off the bed and opened the door.
“We can still have fun,” she reassured me in a whisper, as if she could read my mind. “We just have to be really quiet.”
